Little Vic – “The Evil That Men Do” produced by Buckwild

“When he got the cash / something in his eyes showed the evil side / and no one could hold him back.”

The Song: “The Evil That Men Do” is the latest track from Little Vic’s album Each Dawn I Die. Starting with an ethereal piano and dissonant guitar chords, the beginning creates a level of tension hinting that something big is about to set off. When the beat finally drops, Little Vic busts out a gritty energy that the New York rap scene has not seen in a minute. Weaving the tale of “Handsome Johnny,” Little Vic picks up the storytelling tradition made famous by fellow NY native Nas and adds hard-hitting beats. Speaking about the song Little Vic said, “Johnny represents a lot of kids I know, kids who act like something they aren’t.” From a lyrical standpoint, Little Vic mixes street stories with a philosophical sensibility, not just telling a story of what evil men do, but also analyzing what drives men to do evil. Little Vic rhymes, “When he got the cash / something in his eyes showed the evil side / and no one could hold him back.” Buckwild, who has also worked with Nas, Snoop Dogg, Black Rob and Redman, produced the track. The Background: Little Vic became involved with music at a young age, laying tracks in the studio with his Uncle Paulie, Big KO, and his cousin John. John who became DJ John John, now works closely with major music forces such as Shadyville Entertainment and is known on the New York music scene for his explosive mix tapes, often featuring tracks and freestyles from Little Vic. DJ Whoo Kidd, DJ Domination, DJ Woogie, DJ Front and DJ Eclipse have all brought Little Vic’s celebrated lyrical style to the streets on their impressive mix tapes. Each Dawn I Die in stores now.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND NYC & COMPANY LAUNCH EXPANSION OF JUST ASK THE LOCALS TOURIST APPRECIATION CAMPAIGN

Expansion Follows Record-Breaking Tourism Year in 2007 and Strong First Quarter in 2008 and Includes Addition of 22 New

Celebrities and Local Experts, New Website, Expanded Outdoor Media Presence and $5 Million in Donated Advertising at JFK Airport

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and NYC & Company today launched a comprehensive expansion of the Just Ask The Locals campaign by making a national morning show appearance and deploying welcome teams across New York City. Building on the success of the first phase of Just Ask The Locals launched in 2007, the expanded campaign calls on visitors to ask New Yorkers to share their suggestions on what to see and do in New York City. It will include an additional $5 million in donated media space from JCDecaux in five terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport, an interactive website, and radio, print, online and outdoor advertising throughout all five boroughs. The campaign, which currently features celebrities Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore and others, re-launches with 22 new celebrities and local experts, including Kevin Bacon, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Alan Cumming, Tim Gunn, Debbie Harry, Matt Lauer, Lindsay Price and Ivanka Trump—all of whom offer tips on things like best late-night eats, great bargains and liveliest flea markets around the City. NYC & Company is New York City’s official tourism, marketing and partnership organization.

“Tourism remains one of New York City’s most profitable and stable industries, with a record 47 million visitors generating more than $28 billion in revenue in 2007,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “In expanding the Just Ask The Locals program, we continue our efforts to welcome and thank visitors and make it easier and more rewarding to navigate the City.”

“When we launched Just Ask the Locals last summer, our goal was to connect with visitors on a personal level and make the City more welcoming and easier to navigate,” said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. “This time we are broadening that connection by expanding the program’s reach to offer visitors actionable tips about music, nightlife, food, fashion and more from an array of New York City celebrities and experts.”

The Just Ask The Locals web site, located within the nycvisit.com website, will be one of the initial components of the expansion efforts, along with new outdoor, print and online advertising across the five boroughs. The site will offer navigation tools for visitors and locals through interactive Google maps, address listings, customized directions and transportation links.

The site provides an expanded list of celebrity and local insider tips and top five recommendations, organized by Shopping, Dining, Arts & Entertainment and Nightlife. Visitors to the site also will be able to provide their own tips and ideas on how to navigate and experience the City and can enter the Just Ask the Locals Sweepstakes to win an “NYC Insiders” weekend for two in the City, including hotel accommodations, dining and entertainment. Behind-the-scenes videos will feature participating celebrity and expert locals, who, in their own words, speak to their favorite parts of the City.

The campaign was created by NYC & Company’s in-house creative team, led by Creative Director Willy Wong, and supported through acclaimed celebrity photographers Kevin Mazur and Myrna Suarez. The celebrities and experts – all New York City residents – offered their own personal tips and specific expertise to the campaign, donating their time on behalf of the City. Additional participants include Coltrane Curtis, entrepreneur and MTV fashion VJ; Simon Doonan, creative director for Barneys New York; Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera; Dany Levy, founder of dailycandy.com; Mr. Mickey, the deputy editorial director at Paper magazine; musician Itzhak Perlman; Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.; Eric Ripert, chef and owner of Le Bernardin; chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson; NYPD officer Jahn Scott; and Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.

In addition to the celebrity and expert component, the campaign expansion will enhance the City’s efforts to attract international travelers to New York City and improve the entry process for them. Even as international travel to the United States declines, New York City continues to see record-breaking overseas visitation. Thanks to the additional $5 million donated by partner JCDecaux, more than $10 million in donated advertising space is set to appear across five JFK terminals over the next six months to help welcome international visitors. The campaign also will be supported by media on City bus shelters and street pole banners and, through print and radio ads, taxicab monitors and exclusive offers for American Express card members.

“We are proud to participate in the promotion of New York City, the place that our company calls home in North America,” said Bernard Parisot, President and co-CEO of JCDecaux North America. “The space, donated by JCDecaux at John F. Kennedy International Airport, will reach millions of arriving international passengers, welcoming them to New York City and enhancing their experience.”

American Express, a partner and underwriter of the Just Ask The Locals campaign, is providing American Express card members with exclusive offers from some of the City’s best stores, restaurants, cultural institutions and other organizations. These offers not only will be available online at nycvisit.com, but also will appear in a customized booklet that will be available at more than 80 local businesses, NYC Visitor Information centers, hotels, and will be distributed by street teams and inserted in Time Out New York magazine.

”American Express has a long history of partnering with merchants and card members in supporting the communities in which we live and work,” said Dionne Rogers, vice president, client management, American Express Merchant Services. “The Just Ask The Locals program is a wonderful way to promote New York City and all of the extraordinary experiences it offers, both to visitors and residents.”

Lefty Perez – Exclusive Interview

Rich: This is Rich from CorrienteLatina.com and Official Heat TV and I am sitting here with Lefty Perez, the Legend of the stage. How’s it going?

Lefty Perez: Whats Up! Rich. Thank you for the legend bro. I think we have many more legends then myself but I’m honored.

Rich: Not a problem, you have a very distinct voice. You’re very animated on stage and from the concert in Orlando, I was amazed on how much crowd control you have. It’s uncanny because you dont really see that in alot of artists today. Do you feel that came from the Old School or the new genre of the crowd there is today or a littl combination of both?

Lefty Perez: Well I have a little combination of both. They call me ‘El Joven Biejo’ (The young old man). I come from the roots of back in the 80’s and I have alot of buddy’s like Andy Montanez, El Gran Combo, Gilberto santa Rosa, Oscar De Leon and all those cats show people how to rock a stage; including my boy Marc Anthony. And I have always said you have to go that extra mile for the crowd and give them what they paid for. Just don’t go up there and sing. Go up there and do a show.

Rich: That’s the truth. If you rock a crowd everytime, people are going to know that and say, oh ok well lefty is performing; he does a great show, they won’t mind paying x amount to see you again.

Lefty Perez: Exactly.  But its kind of dangerous because a few gigs back with a large crowd, I almost had a bad accident where people like what you’re doing so much that they tend to grab you and scratches come in, pinch you, so it’s really dangerous depending on where you’re going to do it. But guess what Rich, I love it and this is what I do and I’ll die doing it.

Rich: I was just telling apaza on the drive down here; It’s one thing to do a job, but it doesn’t feel like a job when you love what you do.

Lefty Perez: Absolutley. And its diversified among artists, promoters, writers, radio people, we are all in it together and we all love what we do.

Rich: So what do you have going on now? What have you been up to lately?

Lefty Perez: Thank God, my latest cd; which came out about a year ago, has been doing very well.  It’s called ‘Salsero’s Unidos’ and out of that we have broken out to put the Salsero’s unidos All-Stars and we are doing a world wide tour.

Rich: Really?  Who’s involved in this tour?

Lefty Perez: Well, B&B Entertainment and Worldwide music are the ones doing the tour in combination with Apaza and we have some heavy hitters. Like on May 10th, we will be at the Cobacha with Jose Alberto ‘El Canario’, Anthony Cruz, Kevin Ceballo, Marlon; thirteen Salsero’s on one stage, two bands; none stop salsa. Each artists goes up the music never stops. And I got a suprise for you. Hopefully this september I drop a new CD. And what I have there is heavy it will be called ‘Lefty Perez, Que Viva La Salsa. Recordando Los Grandes’

Rich: So give us the scoop?

*** Side note – Had to get approval, but we got it!!! ***

Lefty Perez: Ok, let what I have done is chosen songs from Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez, Ray Baretto and Perez Prado and I am taking their songs and honoring all those artists and recording big band frank sinatra style; Big Band Sound, but with some heavy salsa. I know that the congreso de la salsa are going to go wild. But its going to be state of the art work. If you heard my CD, You know that I unified alot of Salsero’s that collaborated with me on that CD.  I had Fania All-Stars on it. There you go…now you have the exclusive and I will start recording it at the end of May. As we speak, I am getting ready for the Photo Shoot. Thats why they call me ‘El Joven Viejo’ because I come from Hector Lavoe; my idol, and the Fania All-Stars. So I’m ready. Let the public know.  I always try to take the best of me and bring that to my shows and get the crowd involved.  Bro, it’s the public that makes it happen. I keep telling my friends, it’s the public that makes it happen. Bring them something good. You seen the people climb out their chairs papa and that’s what I do. Some of them (other artists) are good, some of them have their own style; I don’t take nothing away from them, but I’m Lefty. There is a guy that I love and admire and that’s Marc Anthony an he remind me of me. And I have been out way before him and he has had much more success and I love him and my dream one day would be to share a stage with him.  That would be incredible.

Rich: I got a video for Salsero’s Unidos that will air on the Official Heat TV 2nd anniversary show .

Lefty Perez: Yes, Salsero’s Unidos was filmed in Puerto Rico with Andy Montanez, Papo Rosario; one of the guys from El Gran Combo, Elia Lopez; one of the greatest trumpet players and Domingo Quinones. It’s shot in La Perla.  We went to Ismael Rivera’s house which is a museum now and recorded the video there. You can see it at: www.myspace.com/leftyperez  (or click play below)

Rich: Well thank you, Do you have anything else to say to the fans?

Lefty Perez: Well first, West Palm Beach knows me if anyone wants to book a show hit me up.

Rich: I know you do alot of shows in Port St. Lucie.

Lefty Perez: yea, I was just there with Gilberto Santa Rosa. So my peoples in West Palm Beach, it’s a growning town its gourgous up there.  And hello to everybody everywhere.  Hope to see you soon with my new CD ‘Lefty Perez, Que Viva La Salsa. Recordando Los Grandes’ coming out in September. Peace Out.